The present invention generally relates to methods and systems for practicing one's shot with a firearm. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dry fire practice shooting system which is portable and can be used in connection with a portable electronic device, such as a smartphone or the like.
Guns are owned and used for a variety of reasons. Guns may be used and owned for hunting purposes, for sport, for the defense of one's self or others, or in some cases as part of one's profession, such as those in the military, police, security and the like.
Regardless of the situation, the gun owner needs to be very familiar with his or her gun so as to be able to rely on his or her instincts when forced to make decisions under extreme stress when using the gun. Thus, it is very important for a gun owner to be very familiar with his or her gun and to practice using the gun on a regular basis. Accurate shooting is an acquired skill. Developing proficiency with any motor skill requires a significant amount of repetitions.
Some gun owners are able to practice shooting outdoors in a rural area. However, local and state laws regulate where it is legal to shoot a firearm outdoors and this option is not available to all gun owners. Moreover, some gunowners live in suburban and urban areas and instead use an indoor shooting range or an outdoor shooting range facility.
However, there are drawbacks associated with such live firing either outdoors or at a shooting range. The gun owner must take the time to drive to the shooting range or outdoor area. Shooting ranges require an entrance fee or a membership. In all live fire practice situations, there is the expense of spent ammunition. As it can take thousands of repetitions to commit an action to muscle memory, for a shooter that can represent a considerable amount of ammunition to perfect his or her trigger squeeze and shooting accuracy. Due to the loud noise from the discharge of a gun and the recoil of the gun, shooters sometimes develop bad habits such as flinching, eye blinking, lack of follow-through, turning the head to look away, and the like. Some of these bad habits are difficult to detect during live fire training.
Due to these drawbacks, dry fire practice shooting has developed and is even encouraged by shooting instructors. The idea of dry fire is to develop muscle memory through repetition without actually shooting live ammunition. Shooting is a deteriorating skill and studies have shown that in as little as one week after leaving the shooting range an average shooter's skills may diminish by as much as twenty percent. Dry fire training allows a shooter to continually practice, maintaining and improving their skills while away from the live shooting range. Dry fire training represents an affordable training alternative. Dry fire practice shooting has been found to be excellent for treating flinching as there is no recoil of the gun, and without the fear of a loud noise or physical injury the brain can improve the skill of pulling the trigger without disturbing the gun. Dry fire practice shooting has also been found to create less trigger jerking. Trigger jerk is a trigger pulled that disrupts the gun's aiming point. Perfecting a trigger squeeze is as important as properly sighting the firearm to the target. Once again, these skills require thousands of repetitions on an ongoing basis to perfect and maintain.
There are shortcomings associated with existing dry fire systems and methods, however. In some cases, the gun owner merely removes the magazine and all ammunition from his or her firearm and practices aiming and squeezing the trigger in order to simulate firing of the firearm in a repetitive manner. However, there is no feedback as it relates to whether the shooter has properly sighted his or her firearm on the intended target. This can also become repetitious and dull quite quickly and the firearm owner may lose interest.
There are other systems wherein a laser light emitting device simulating a firearm is used. In such cases, the user will have the benefit of being able to see where the laser hits a target and thus ascertain whether he or she is shooting accurately. In some cases, the target may comprise a sensor array which detects the laser light. However, these systems have drawbacks as well in that it is recommended to practice with one's own firearm to become familiar with that particular firearm. Moreover, replacing one's handgun with a replica adds to the cost of gun ownership and training, which costs can be significantly increased by having to purchase an electronic target which senses the laser light emitted thereon. In some cases, these dry fire systems and methods must be established similar to a shooting range, such as in a basement or dedicated room of one's house.
Accordingly, there is a continuing need for a dry fire practice shooting system which is portable. Such a dry fire practice shooting system should also enable the owner to utilize his or her own firearm when practicing. What is also needed is a portable dry fire practice shooting system which provides shooting accuracy feedback to the gun owner. The present invention fulfills these needs, and provides other related advantages.